Peterborough Needs PCVS to pay $25,000

(PETERBOROUGH) PCVS school supporters won’t have to pay in full for taking the downtown high school’s closure to court.
Peterborough Needs PCVS, the group which took the issue to a Toronto courtroom in June, will pay $25,000 instead of the $186,251 requested by the local public school board.
In a court endorsement, the judges state, “We are of the view that, in the circumstance of this case, some costs should be ordered to be paid by the applicants.”
According to the endorsement, Peterborough Needs PCVS argued the school board, a public body, is in a better position to bear the cost of the proceeding.
The issue stems from the board’s September, 2011 decision to convert Peterborough’s last downtown high school into an alternative centre for education in the face of declining enrolment.
School supporters spent the following months urging the board to reconsider via delegations at board meetings, protests and public demonstrations. After two days of cross-examination at Osgoode Hall, three judges ruled the board followed proper policy in determining the school should close.
In April, Peterborough Needs PCVS announced it had raised roughly $100,000 towards the legal battle, although they were aiming to raise closer to $250,000. More than half of the money was planned to cover damages in case they lost, the group previously told This Week.
In October when the board tallied up its legal expenses, it submitted roughly $180,000 in costs to the court. According to Diane Lloyd, that figure included all legal fees but didn’t include time staff spent to prepare information for lawyers.
At the time, Ms Lloyd told This Week it was the board’s job to protect taxpayer dollars and the community shouldn’t have to shell out court costs.
Jay Amer, spokesperson for Peterborough Needs PCVS, previously told This Week taking the issue to court was a just cause and it was school supporters’ hope that judges would look favourably on that.
The court does acknowledge money spent by the school board will have an impact on budget items that directly or indirectly support student achievement.
Peterborough Needs PCVS’ co-ordinating committee plans to meet in the new year to discuss the implications of the judges’ decision. Mr. Amer says the group doesn’t have any further information or comments at this time.
A representative for board was unavailable to comment on Monday (Dec. 31).